· Max Lowery · Podcast Episode · 2 min read
#97 Why Fighting Anxiety, Stress, and Cravings Makes Them Worse with Ed Halliwell
What if emotional eating isn’t about discipline but avoiding how you feel? This episode explores how acceptance, not willpower, breaks the cycle.
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Why Fighting Your Feelings Is Keeping You Stuck (And How Acceptance Ends Emotional Eating)
What if the reason you feel stuck with food, weight, and anxiety isn’t a lack of willpower but the way you’re trying to control your emotions?
In this powerful episode, Max Lowery sits down with mindfulness coach Ed Halliwell to unpack one of the most misunderstood drivers of emotional eating and long-term weight struggles: our relationship with uncomfortable feelings.
If you’ve ever tried to “fix” anxiety, stress, guilt, or overwhelm by eating, scrolling, drinking, or pushing harder—only to find yourself right back where you started—this conversation will feel uncomfortably familiar (and deeply relieving).
Together, Max and Ed explore why avoiding so-called “negative emotions” actually makes them louder and more persistent. You’ll hear why willpower collapses the moment strong feelings show up, and why emotional eating has nothing to do with discipline or self-control.
Ed shares his own story of anxiety and depression, including a pivotal moment where acceptance—not effort became the turning point. Max connects this directly to the patterns he sees every day with high-achieving women who feel out of control around food, despite succeeding everywhere else in life.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why trying to get rid of anxiety, stress, or cravings often backfires
How emotional eating becomes a habit loop (and how to interrupt it)
Why distraction and numbing only provide short-term relief
How acceptance creates space between feelings and reactions
What self-compassion actually looks like in practice (not just as a concept)
A simple, practical mindfulness exercise you can use in the moment before eating
This episode challenges diet culture at its core. Instead of forcing behavior change through restriction and motivation, Max and Ed explain how learning to sit with discomfort gently and compassionately can break the cycle of guilt, self-blame, and self-sabotage.
The result? Less emotional eating, more peace around food, and sustainable weight loss as a byproduct—not a battle.
If you’re tired of starting over, tired of blaming yourself, and tired of fighting your own mind, this conversation may be the missing skill nobody ever taught you.
If you’re ready for evidence, not hype, press play.
My calendar for february is now open, and I am taking applications for Food Freedom Breakthrough Calls. We work with a small number of women at a time, so spaces are limited. If you want to break emotional eating for good with clarity and confidence, book your call now.